ArchivePage 3 of 14

Ooops. Time for a break.

My accidental 2-mile overage on Sunday seems to have been a bit too much for my tendons– the back of my left knee is very, very sore. Apart from a bit of walking around campus, I took Monday off, and didn’t go running until Tuesday afternoon. I had decided to just run a couple of miles to see how it felt. It was not so good. My outer-calves felt very week, and the back of my left knee was a little… pinchy? I struggled through a mile, walked a bit, and then ran a second mile that felt a little better. But I knew I shouldn’t go any further. I stopped by the gym on the way home to give my legs the big stretch I should have energy to do on Sunday: rolled out my quads and IT band, rolled out my shins and calves, and stretched the front of my legs on that ankle/calf strengthening machine.

Once I was back at home, I iced. I think things are less painful today, and I brought the heating pad to work for some additional therapy. I found a few things online that have me believing that after a few days off, I should be ready to go again. It’s the only thing keeping my spirits up; every day I can’t train bums me out a little more. I just hope that the time I take off doesn’t force me to step down the last several weeks of my training too much.

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patrick
on August 20, 2008
in nyc, pain and running
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Turning the page; many WNY runs; back to Brooklyn; hospital

It’s been a while since I updated do to travel (bus rides to Fredonia & back), visitors (Jeremy was here), and lots of miles logged on the roads in the last two weeks (86!). The Fredonia runs were great– make sure to click on the maps to see the satellite view. It was pretty hot while we were there, but the change of scenery was great.

The only back-in-Brooklyn run I’ll comment on was yesterday’s 18 miles. I got a bit of a late start and was feeling quite sluggish all along. The splits tell a sad tale– I went to my dark place at the end of mile 15 and walked .25 mi or so for each of the last three miles. It turns out that I was really only supposed to go 16 (an error on my fridge sheet!), so I can’t feel too bad about it, but I know that getting up the endurance to run it all the way through will be slow to come. I have another chance this weekend, with 17 on the same course. The first 15 miles were right where I need to be pace-wise. I took an ice bath afterward, and though I was moving slowly this morning, I feel ok now. You should have seen me get off the bus this morning at work, though.  Here’s the links to my runs:

18 miles Sunset Park to Coney Island & back
8 miles in Prospect Park
4 miles on treadmill
8 miles in Prospect Park
4 miles on the treadmill
10 miles in Prospect Park
7 miles in Western NY
3 miles around Lake Erie State Park
7 miles SUNY Fredonia to Lake Erie State Park
3 miles around Lake Erie State Park
14 miles Lake Erie State Park to SUNY Fredonia & back

The trip to Fredonia was great, and we got to see many people. Had tons of great food, but I’m glad to be back on a regular diet again. The one bad part about the trip was that I ended up in the hospital with stomach pains one morning, but it seems like it was just a bug (though they mentioned the possibility of an ulcer!). The hospital in Dunkirk has a bad reputation, but it was about the best ER experience I’ve ever had. Got checked out by my own doctor this afternoon, and it seems like I should be fine– he took more blood to check to see if there was anything to worry about. He gave me the additional good news that my cholesterol numbers were great (which I wasn’t expecting) and that I have the blood pressure of a pre-teen. I’m interpreting that as permission to eat buffalo wings and bacon at every opportunity.

There is probably so much more to tell, but I have a million other things to do. Including finishing my redesign of this site. The upgrade went pretty smoothly, but left me with the irresistable opportunity to overhaul everything. Some stuff still points to older pages, but that should be over soon. Let me know if anything starts looking kooky.

Published
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patrick
on August 18, 2008
in family, pain, photos, running and travel
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Things might look strange here for a couple of days…

I upgraded to Wordpress 2.6 and had a few problems… taking the opportunity to fix a few other annoying things.

In the mean time, check out our Lake Erie vacation pictures. I ran almost 40 miles while we were there.

Published
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patrick
on August 15, 2008
in travel
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Last Prospect Park run for a while; change of scenery and weather coming right up

I had a rough 7 miles in Prospect Park this morning. Usually Friday is my rest day, but since we’ll be on a bus all night, and clamoring to get the cabin stocked and set up tomorrow, I figured I’d better get it in while I can. The good news is that Sunday’s 14 miles will take place in Fredonia, probably this loop 2x. For the next week, we’ll be at the same cabin at Lake Erie State Park we stayed in last year. I can’t wait for all of the campfires and outdoor cooking. Best of all, 82 is the projected highest temperature all week. I’ll try to post about my runs, and maybe some pictures, but I will likely be without a web connection while were out. Probably a good thing.

Published
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patrick
on August 1, 2008
in photos, running and travel
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13 miles — Bay Ridge to Coney Island and back

For my long run this week, I decided to take the Shore Road path from Bay Ridge to as far as it would get me towards Coney Island, then switch to the streets to get all the way there. It was great to have new scenery, and the run felt good and went by quickly.

Splits-wise, I was right on track. Average pace was 8:44, and most of my miles were within about 10 seconds of this pace– nothing too fast (not even mile 2!). That is an unheard-of level of consistency for me.  There were a couple of 9+ plus miles, when I was navigating the boardwalk and the streets leading back to the trail, but all in all, each mile was within the 90 seconds of my marathon pace I was shooting for. The only downer about the whole run was getting splashed with gutter water by a minivan on Cropsey just after I reached Coney Island.

Kelly met up with me about 2 miles before I finished so we could go get bagels from 5-Star together, and we finished running just in time to be caught in a downpouer. Literally at 12.96 miles, the sky opened up and ruined most people’s day. Once I finished, we found shelter and waited fo a bus that took us to the bagel shop. Delicious.

I was already soaked with sweat before the rain came down, and my feet were sloshing in my shoes. I’ve never had this much of a foot-sweat problem, so I’m hoping it’s not my newish shoes. I have no complaints about them or the toe-socks otherwise. Not a single blister since I started using them.

Also, today was one of my safest runs– the Road ID that mom bought me arrived yesterday and I broke it in today. Let’s hope I never need it. Getting ready for the run last night, I laid out all my gear, and realized how much stuff I have when I run. I’ll post a breakdown of this soon; it’s kind of funny how much I take with me… I always think of running as this free-and-easy, no-equipment-required sport, but I’m loaded down with junk on these long runs.

Published
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patrick
on July 27, 2008
in brooklyn, food and running
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Subconsciously taking Beth’s advice; mile two’s still a problem; why I love Prospect Park, but am planning tomorrow’s run to the beach

So, Beth’s answer to my “i’m running to fast on my marathon pace days” was that my marathon pace is too slow. Perhaps she’s right. 7:30 feels about right, it’s a bit tough, but not a stretch at all. Almost my automatic step-it-up speed. So, from now on, I’m gonna take my pace runs at about 7:30, which, if my training works out right, puts me at about 3:20– faster that I actually see myself going, but a good goal I s’pose. If my plan breaks down, and I can’t hang at this rate, I can always go for 3:30.

This morning’s run, which was nice but hot, broke down like this:

7:51, 7:00, 7:32, 7:58, 7:14, 7:29.

You’ll notice, mile 2 was again, the very fastest. I didn’t walk to the park like I mentioned before, but I also consciously tried to go slower. A very nice breeze kicked in at the end of my first mile, and I guess that lifted my spirits, so I just rode it on out. Like these splits otherwise, though. Funny how my faster miles always come after my slowest, then I hit the right pace. Whatever.

These 5-days-a-week runs have had me in Prospect Park more than usually, and I have to say that, despite the trafficky late-day runs and the ho-hum trail, I love it. Kelly and I have been there even more lately– multiple nights the last few weeks– for Celebrate Brooklyn events.  Last night was Phillip Glass & orchestra for a live performance of the score to Powasqquatsi, along with the actual movie. It was great. Couple of weeks back we caught old fave Beth Orton, Spoon a couple nights later, and Deerhoof last week. Tonight we’ve planned to take the grill to cook up some dinner to the sounds of Bear Hands, The Jealous Girlfriends, and Austin-natives Ghostland Observatory, who we saw years back at a party at Factory People in Austin. They seem to have really picked up steam since then– see below.

Much as I love Prospect Park though, tomorrow I’m planning to reach the beach, via the Shore Road path in Bay Ridge. Should be about 13 miles out-and-back to the beach at Coney Island. Kelly’s going to meet me in Bay Ridge after her run so we can enjoy my favorite bagels ever, from a no-name place on 86th street.

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City

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patrick
on July 26, 2008
in Uncategorized
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Nice weather returns, but for how long?

Some boring-borderline-incredible thunderstorms and showers interupted my schedule this week, but an early 3 miles this morning in about 70-degree breezy made up for it. Here’s the rundown of this weeks’ runs:

3 miles in Prospect Park
6 miles in Prospect Park
3 miles in Prospect Park

I seem to be getting better at slowing down, and things have felt pretty good. I’ve made it to three yoga classes this week and have done some leg strengthening, and I’m pleased to report that the soreness in my calves seems to be subsiding. I think I need to be warming up a little more before I begin my runs so I don’t have the lower-leg weak feelings when I bust into my run. Spending an hour at yoga this morning before my run got rid of that weird feeling, but it’s not realistic to think that I can do that most days.

Something strange that I did notice: my 2nd mile is always too fast, maybe a reaction to all the traffic and people evasion I traditionally have to do on my first mile. Kelly suggest walking to the park before I start my run, and I think I’ll start doing that.

Published
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patrick
on July 25, 2008
in Uncategorized, austin, pain and running
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400 miles so far this year!

I just missed it this week, but I’ve passed 400 miles for the year. This puts me way ahead of schedule to beat my 535 miles last year, even with a month of downtime. With some aggressive running after the marathon for November and December, I may even break 1,000. Not that I’m gonna push it.

Published
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patrick
on July 21, 2008
in running
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A weeks’ worth of run updates

Week three of my training is complete. While it was a step-down mileage week, the unbelievable heat and humidity made it rough. My calves are feeling a bit less tired in the mornings, perhaps because I spent some time doing strength work at the gym this week. Here’re the breakdown.

I’ve gotten a little more control of my pace– still a few too-quick miles during my long run– but I’m able to tell when it’s getting out of hand.
I also debuted my new iPod shuffle on Saturday and Sunday, and it promptly died near the end of my Sunday run. I was able to exchange it for a new one, but things look bleak for it lasting like my iPod nano that I’d used for the last 4 years. Otherwise, it’ s perfect. Looking for a water-resistant case for it now.
Published
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patrick
on July 21, 2008
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Change of scenery proves strangely problematic, though my splits are where they should be

Rather than do 3 laps in Prospect Park for my 11 miles on Sunday, Kelly and I decided to head to Central Park (about a 3 minute ride on the Q train) for a change of pace. I did alright, staying between 45 and 90 seconds over my marathon pace… fastest mile was 8:02 (#11!), slowest was 9:18 (#8). It was only about 74 degrees, but the general lack of shade and the intense humidity really took its toll… I think the fast final mile was just me trying to get it over with.

Kelly came along and ran for about an hour, then greeted me with a cold lime Gatorade at the end. I wore a cotton shirt again, and ended up regretting it as I had to wring out about a gallon of sweat and ultimately finish shirtless. It was a while post run before I fully dried off.

Since it was a bit of a treat to go to Manhattan for a run, we decided to find a bagel for breakfast afterward, but being in midtown, it was ultimately expensive and unsatisfying. Why can’t everywhere be Brooklyn– land of delicious, cheap, and convenient bagels?

The change of pace was nice, but thinking I may hit the shore in Bay Ridge for next Sunday’s 8 miler. At least I can be certain to find great bagels there. Looking forward to the trip to Fredonia, though, in August, where I have at least on 10+ mile run scheduled.

Published
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patrick
on July 14, 2008
in Uncategorized, nyc and running
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